Wednesday, 9th October: Heavy rain overnight that extended into the morning, though still mild, before clearing up to give brighter spells with some cloud, as the brisk W/SW wind eased down then backed to the N.
Climping Gap - Atherington area: Once the rain had eased it was actually quite mild, as the wind dropped away, so it looked promising for passerine migrants. I spent most of the time 'bush-bashing' this morning, but could only locate the commoner species once again. There was a fair bit of 'vis mig' going on overhead too and my log for the morning was as follows:
Little Egret - 4
Swallow - 30, mainly E
Skylark - 20
Meadow Pipit - plenty in the fields and some overhead, no count
Rock Pipit - 1
Pied Wagtail - 15
Song Thrush - 2
Blackcap - 5
Chiffchaff - 15
Goldcrest - 4
Linnet - 20
Greenfinch - 2
Reed Bunting - 1
(above) Meadow Pipit at Climping - there were quite a few in the fields this morning, and (below) Chiffchaff nearby....this one dropped to the ground to feed near my feet!
Tuesday, 8th October: A changeable but mainly bright and breezy day, with low pressure dominating. After overnight rain and early showers, a mild and almost warm morning of sunshine and white cloud, but with a strong SW wind 5-6, gusting to force 7 at times, then going downhill by afternoon as heavy showers wet in.
Elmer Rocks: After a bit of a late start (08:45) I tried a sea-watch again, but it was similar to yesterday with very little happening offshore. Five Gannets drifted west along the horizon and several Mediterranean Gulls went east among commoner gulls, whilst a dozen Swallows were heading SW out to sea - presumably starting out on their very long return journey 'home'.
The strong wind was battering the bushes and hedgerows and consequently there were very few small birds to see; finding the sheltered spots produced no more than four Chiffchaffs and a couple of Song Thrushes amongst commoner species. Three Skylarks and a couple of Meadow Pipits were noted heading north, but there was little else of note. In the fields behind the beach there were six Little Egrets feeding and a large gathering of gulls was also present - mainly Black-headed and a few Herring Gulls, but also c.40 Med Gulls.
The recently ploughed field behind the beach at Elmer Rocks has been receiving plenty of avian attention recently; here Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls (mostly) are making the best of things.
Monday, 7th October: Rain overnight, followed by some beefy showers into the morning, then giving way to sunny periods with white cloud and a fresh S/SW wind force 4, although still feeling quite mild.
Elmer Rocks: I ventured out once the rain had passed, thinking that a sea-watch would be the best option, but was disappointed to discover that again very little was happening offshore. A distant gathering of feeding gulls on the horizon held just three or four Gannets and several Mediterranean Gulls passed through, but there was nothing else of any note.
It was low tide and no waders were present, bar a handful of Ringed Plovers heading west. Swallows were still moving, but in very small numbers today, whilst there was just a little 'vis.mig' which included a few Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. A check of the hedgerows and bushes showed that Chiffchaff numbers were very much reduced and I only logged five birds. In the agricultural fields behind the beach the only slightly unusual thing was a total of eight Little Egrets feeding amongst gulls, whilst a couple of Buzzards, a Kestrel, and a few Goldfinches and Linnets made up the meagre totals. A quiet birding day!
Little Egrets feeding amongst gulls and other species on agricultural fields behind Elmer beach
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